ABU DHABI, 01 September 2021, (TON): Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan held a rare phone call with the UAE’s de facto ruler, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Erdogan’s office said on Tuesday, in a new sign of efforts to improve ties between the regional rivals.
Turkey and the UAE have competed for regional influence since the Arab uprisings erupted a decade ago, a rivalry which saw them backing different sides in Libya’s civil war and extended to disputes from the eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf.
Erdogan said last year Turkey was considering breaking off diplomatic relations after the Gulf state’s accord to normalise ties with Israel.
“Relations between the countries and regional issues were discussed in the talks,” Erdogan’s office said of his call with Sheikh Mohammed.
The call came two weeks after Erdogan met a senior UAE official and said the two countries had made progress in improving relations which could lead to significant UAE investment in Turkey.

BRUSSELS, 01 September 2021, (TON): The EU Ministers of Home Affairs met for an extraordinary Council meeting to discuss developments in Afghanistan, more specifically in relation to potential implications in the areas of international protection, migration and security.
The seriousness of the evolving situation requires a determined and concerted response to its many dimensions by the EU and the international community. The evacuation of our citizens and to the extent possible of Afghan nationals who have cooperated with the EU and its Member States and their families, has been conducted as a matter of priority and will be continued. In this regard, intensive work is underway to identify targeted solutions for the remaining specific cases of persons at risk in Afghanistan.
As an immediate priority, the EU will continue to coordinate with international partners, in particular the UN and its agencies, on the stabilization of the region and to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the vulnerable populations, in particular women and children, in Afghanistan and in neighbouring countries. To this end, the EU and its Member States will step up financial support to relevant international organisations.
The EU will engage and strengthen its support to third countries, in particular the neighbouring and transit countries, hosting large numbers of migrants and refugees, to reinforce their capacities to provide protection, dignified and safe reception conditions and sustainable livelihood for refugees and host communities.

NEW DELHI, 01 September 2021, (TON): India's ambassador to Qatar held talks with a top Taliban leader yesterday, the Indian foreign ministry said, the first formal diplomatic engagement since the hardline Islamist group took over Afghanistan.
The envoy, Deepak Mittal, met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban's Political Office in Doha, at the request of the Taliban, the foreign ministry said.
India has long had concerns about the Taliban because of the group's close ties to arch rival Pakistan. The foreign ministry said the two sides discussed the safety of Indians left behind in Afghanistan.
Mittal also conveyed India's fears that anti-India militants could use Afghanistan's soil to mount attacks, the foreign ministry said.
"The Taliban representative assured the ambassador that these issues would be positively addressed," the foreign ministry said.
The talks come days after Stanekzai was quoted in the local press as saying that the Taliban wanted political and economic ties with India.

DHAKA, 01 September 2021, (TON): Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen is going to UK tomorrow on a three-day official visit to chalk-up a post-Brexit, post-Covid new strategic partnership vision, marking the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh-UK diplomatic relations.
This visit, ahead of the COP26 to be held in Glasgow in November this year, will also significantly feature climate change, as well as Rohingya repatriation and regional security, officials said.
During the visit starting Wednesday, the second leg of his 10-day visit to Europe after Geneva, Foreign Minister Momen is scheduled to hold official talks with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab Thursday, a bilateral meeting with COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma.
"The official bilateral talks will be a historic occasion as the Bangladesh and UK foreign ministers will be meeting in London for the first time during the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two friendly countries," said Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland Saida Muna Tasneem in a statement today.
The visit will provide an opportunity to set the tone for Bangladesh CVF Presidency's high-level participation in the upcoming COP26. Return of the Rohingyas back to Myanmar and regional security will also feature in the discussions, she said.
Foreign Minister is due to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues with the UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab from post-Brexit trade relations, Bangladesh-UK new economic partnership vision to post-Covid vaccine cooperation and lifting Bangladesh out of UK's travel red list.

NAYPYITAW, 01 September 2021, (TON): Junta soldiers raided the home of Mandalay Region parliament speaker Aung Kyaw Oo—who has been detained since the February 1 coup—and assaulted his family members after stealing 1 million kyat (more than US$600) from the residence on Sunday night, according to area locals.
A ward resident said that at around 11pm around 10 heavily armed troops arrived at the home, which was also the Eastern Daywun ward office for the National League for Democracy (NLD), on 90th St in Maha Aungmyay Township.
The resident said of the soldiers“They destroyed the NLD-related items, chairs, mirrors, paintings and photos of Aung San Suu Kyi, and they beat Aung Kyaw Oo’s daughter-in-law."
Photos of the house after the raid that were seen by Myanmar Now indicated that furniture had been broken.
A source close to the family said the troops reportedly told the family that they were looking into explosions that occurred hours earlier at an office of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in the same township.

RIYADH, 01 September 2021, (TON): The Houthi militia in Yemen were accused of war crimes on Tuesday after they launched two armed drones targeting Abha airport and a ballistic missile aimed at Najran in the south of the Kingdom.
Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed the drones and the missile. Eight people were injured by falling debris, and an Airbus A320 civilian aircraft on the tarmac was damaged.
Of the injured, one was Saudi, one from Nepal, three from India and three from Bangladesh. One of those injured was in a critical condition in hospital.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said the drone attack on the airport “constitutes a war crime.”
Later the coalition launched an operation targeting a launchpad in Sanaa, the Houthi-occupied Yemeni capital, and said it had “destroyed the terrorist elements responsible for the attack.”
Flights at Abha International Airport were temporarily halted “to ensure the safety of incoming and departing aircraft, as well as civilians at the airport,” the coalition said.

KINSHASA, 01 September 2021, (TON):Two civilians were killed and six others were seriously injured in a gunfight that broke out in Goma, a city in the DRC's eastern region.
The city of Goma, where all security services are based, yet the incident occurred.
Families of the victims gathered to express their grief, shock, and disbelief.
"We don't know if the state of siege exists because we don't see the results, people are still being killed, even robbery has multiplied, if you walk with a handbag, the thugs vanish with it, in any case we are suffering, we are in need of help"
The unclaimed shooting is the first since the state of siege, the authorities are trying to reassure everyone and announce investigations.
"They are robbers who entered a shop, four who were riding on two motorbikes and shot. This is normal criminality but the police unit was there and we have been informed and investigations are being carried out.
Goma, one of the most prosperous cities in the DRC, borders two territories where armed groups are active, namely Masisi and Nyiragongo.

NAYPYITAW, 01 September 2021, (TON): A Hong Kong-listed power generation company has pulled out of two power station projects in Myanmar after facing “challenging times” amid economic turmoil caused by the February 1 coup.
VPower Group said in its half year results last week that it will not be renewing the contracts for two of the nine power stations it has a stake in across the country. It did not say which two projects it was pulling out of or give a specific reason for the decision.
The latest list of contracts disclosed by VPower no longer names the Kyauk Phyu II project in Rakhine State and Myingyan I project in Mandalay Region, which were previously mentioned in its 2020 annual report.
After “political events and social unrest” in February, the company dusted off its contingency plans to protect the safety of its employees and keep its power stations running amid “challenging times,” VPower said.

KATHMANDU, 01 September 2021, (TON): A total of 828 Nepalis who were stranded in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover were repatriated till August 30.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a total of 45 Nepalis were rescued from Turkish Air on Monday and five from Fly Dubai.
Nepalis who are stranded in Afghanistan after the recent political developments there have been rescued and repatriated continuously.
The Ministry has managed this online registration form for Nepalis in Afghanistan in a bid to collect current status to ensure their immediate rescue to home.

NAYPYITAW, 01 September 2021, (TON): Locals say they have been unable to bury the bodies of residents they found dead around Kar Paung Kya village in Sagaing Region’s Taze Township following a sustained military raid on the community.
Junta troops most recently stormed the village on August 26, causing locals to flee into the nearby forests for safety. Villagers found six bodies after sneaking back into Kar Paung Kya while it was still occupied by the military.
The bodies of three men were found near the village’s cemetery—60-year-old Phoe Gyi, 37-year-old Kyaw Naing Lin, and 25-year-old Lwin Moe.
At the time of reporting, they were still unburied, an eyewitness told media
Further details about the men or how they died is not yet known.
Two more men were found dead within the village itself, with gunshot sounds to the head: 40-year-old Zaw Min Lay and 30-year-old Hein Zar, according to the eyewitness.